If I'd Only Known
by Goddess02007
Summary: When SG1 leaves for a routine mission they are suprised to find themselves right back at the SGC. But things are not quite how they left them.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM. No copyright infringement is intended. No money is being made. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.

Spoilers: Ermm kind of AU so hard to tell. Anything before the Quest is fair game I guess.

Prologue

The young woman walked quickly through the halls of the SGC. The sound of her black pumps echoed throughout the hall. She smiled politely as she passed an SF, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She was so exhausted.

She reached the door to her quarters and unlocked it. As soon as she got inside she sagged against the door, barely able to stay on her feet any longer. Tiredly she dragged herself over to the adjoining bathroom. While she was washing her hands she looked up into the mirror. Her own blue eyes stared back at her but nothing else about her reflection looked familiar.

The makeup she'd put on when she'd gotten up almost 43 hours ago had long since disappeared and her face looked pale and sickly in its absence. She tried thinking back to the last time she'd gotten more than three hours of sleep, but couldn't recall. For the last several weeks her work had seemed to be never-ending.

The door to her quarters opened and closed and she heard the sound of military issue boots being kicked into the corner. _Take off your shoes before you come in the house._ She laughed quietly that even here, where there was no carpeting to be ruined, he followed her crazy, neat-freak rules.

A few seconds later she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist and he gently kissed her neck. "You're freezing," he murmured in her ear while playing with the end of her long blonde braid.

"Mmmhmm," she answered, not quite capable of replying properly. "What are you doing here?" she asked somewhat suspiciously. It was so rare that they were both free at the same time.

"I heard you were taking a break so I snuck away when they weren't looking." He turned her around and lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss started slow and gentle, but his tongue pressed against her lips begging for admittance, which it was quickly granted, turning the kiss much more passionate. The combined effects of exhaustion and pleasure were too much, and she felt her knees giving out under her. He sensed the shift in her weight and in one swift movement he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

He laid her down on the bed, lowering himself onto her gently balancing his own weight. She reveled in the feel of his body against hers. Their stolen moments had become so few and far between that she treasured each and every second. He reached for the buttons on her blouse as he slowly kissed a line down her jaw to her neck. She reached for the edge of his T-shirt and began to pull it loose, desperate for the feel of his flesh against hers. He'd finally succeeded in removing her blouse and begun to lay soft kisses across her smooth stomach . . .

"**DR O'NEILL TO THE INFIMIRY! DR. O'NEILL TO THE INFIRMIRY IMMEDIATELY!"**

The woman groaned and threw her head back against the pillow. "Apparently, I'm needed immediately," she said with a smirk.

"They mean ten minutes," her lover informed her flippantly.

"Well, I happen to like my job," she commented as she pulled herself into a sitting position, while pushing him off of her and fastening the buttons of her shirt.

"I don't like your job," he complained. She kissed him lightly and continued to fix her now mussed braid. As she reached for the door she looked back at him. He sat on the bed pulling his boots back on. It struck her how incredibly lucky she was to be his fiancée.

"Do you think things will ever be normal-ish again?" she whispered quietly. He looked up startled by her blunt question.

He sighed. "I don't know Kate. I just don't know."


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed. Good to hear at least some of you are enjoying the story! What are the other 200 of you who read the story thinking?? Please review even if it's just yay or nay it helps!

Also thanks to my amazing beta **Kestra Scott** from Gateworld! I was so scrambled when I posted the prologue I forgot to thank her, so double thanks now!

**Chapter 1**

Cameron Mitchell rolled back and forth on his feet impatiently. He stood at the edge of the ramp leading up to the stargate with Colonel Samantha Carter and Teal'c. The rest of his team had yet to show up, despite the fact that they were scheduled for departure 12 minutes ago.

Cam looked at Carter expectedly. "Don't look at me Cam. I have no idea where they could be," she said upon seeing the look he was giving her. Cam turned to Teal'c.

"I too am unaware of their current location," the Jaffa informed him. _Well that's useless_, Cam thought. Just as he was about to tell Walter to page them, the pair came rushing into the gate room.

"But I needed it all!" Vala was protesting vehemently. Daniel just rolled his eyes heavenward in response.

"Nice of you guys to join us," Cam commented as Walter started dialing up the gate.

"Daniel wouldn't help me fit all my stuff in my backpack," Vala continued to complain. Cam turned to Daniel expectantly.

"You don't even want to know," the archaeologist responded.

"I mean, you never know where there's going to be an outlet for your hair dryer or curling iron, or who you'll run into to trade with or to look good for . . ." Vala rambled on as the final chevron locked, and the gate surged to life. General Landry's voice came over the speakers, effectively cutting off her spiel.

"SG-1, you have a go."

"Alright guys let's move out!" Cam ordered. The team proceeded up the ramp and through the shimmering event horizon.

On the other side their ears were immediately assaulted by the blaring of the Offworld Activation sirens. They'd somehow ended up right back in the gateroom! "Well this is strange!" Vala stated. About a half a dozen airmen stood around the edge of the ramp with their guns pointed at the team. No one on SG-1 recognized any of them.

"Escort them to the infirmary for tests immediately!" a voice came over the speakers, but the team didn't recognize the man speaking into the microphone.

"Wait just a minute!" Cam shouted as their weapons were taken from them. "What the hell is going on?"

"That's what we're going to find out!" one of the airmen said while glaring at the team.

"We need to speak to someone in charge," Colonel Carter spoke up for the first time.

"You're not going near anyone until you've been thoroughly checked out," the airman responded. As SG-1 was led to the infirmary they tried to figure out what could be happening to them.

"What about alternate realities?" Cam asked. "Could we have ended up in one of them?"

"The gate shouldn't work that way unless it's forced. We didn't do anything to trigger that kind of reaction," Sam responded.

"When we had all those alternate realities, most of them hadn't done anything different," Daniel pointed out.

"But the fact remains that each of them had come from an offworld mission. We just came from the gateroom. The only time we ever ended up right back where we left from was . . ." she trailed off.

"When we went back to 1969," Daniel finished her thought.

"So we're going with the time travel theory?" Cam asked as they reached the infirmary.

"That seems to be the most likely explanation," Sam verified ignoring the weird looks they were getting from their guards.

When they reached the infirmary they were greeted by a very flustered looking nurse. "Oh my goodness! Oh dear, that's what came through the gate? I just have no idea how to handle this sort of situation! This was not in my training at all. I . . ."

"I think the first step would be to call a doctor. Where's Dr. O'Neill?" one of the airman asked her. SG-1 exchanged glances at the strange combination of that title and their friend's name.

"On break. I'll go get someone to page . . ." She muttered to herself as she wandered off. Just as she was leaving a young blonde man came barreling into the infirmary nearly knocking her over. He looked frantically around the infirmary, before his eyes landed on them.

"I told you!" he thundered. "They got through the gate didn't they? I told everyone that a DNA Identification Shield wouldn't be sufficient, but they were all like 'Oh no you've only been here a few months. You don't really know what's going on.' Well now they see! If they had just listened to me . . ." he continued to rant as everyone in the infirmary proceeded to ignore him and go about their business. One of the nurses that had managed to maintain her composure came up to them and began to take blood samples from each of them. They guards still stood nearby, watching over SG-1.

Vala leaned over and whispered in Daniel's ear, "I think he might be insane."

"Or just really, really pissed," he whispered back.

The man was still raving five minutes later when a young woman entered the room. She took one look around and a scowl came over her face. "Why are all these guns in my infirmary?" she asked. The furious man spun around and looked at her.

"Thank God. Kathleen, have you heard what happened? I told them and . . ."

"Shut up." She cut him off. "I ask again. Guns. Why."

"We were guarding the prisoners ma'am," one of the airmen responded.

"Don't you know the rules yet, Kennedy?" she asked, pointing at a poster board hanging next to the door. Sure enough, it said in big bold letters, **THE RULES**. Underneath it had three rules listed:

1. NO guns under any circumstance. Never. Don't even ask.

2. Everyone's afraid of needles. Get over it or I'll think of reasons to poke you with more.

3. Don't even try to get out before I clear you. It's not going to work. I don't care if Fido is outside in the rain or grandma's in the hospital. You're not leaving until I say so.

_Dr. K.L. O'Neill_

The guards eyed the sign before slinking dejectedly out of the infirmary to guard from the outside. Sam smiled as the tiny doctor reminded her of another doctor who'd been able to scare the big, bad airmen with just one look. Dr. O'Neill turned to the team for the first time. Her blue eyes got huge as she looked at them. "Oh boy," she commented.

The phone hanging on the wall rang, and the man answered it. "Infirmary. . . Yes sir she is. . . I'll tell her . . . Yes sir." He turned to Dr. O'Neill who was still staring absently at SG-1. "The general wants you to brief him and SG-1 when you finish running tests. And you're supposed to bring those guys with you."

"Oh boy," she commented again.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the wonderful reviews! This is kind of a technical chapter, but I hope you still enjoy it. Thanks again to my amazing beta **Kestra Scott** and everyone else over at **Gateworld **who keeps me entertained into all hours of the night!

**Chapter 2**

SG-1 sat around the briefing table waiting for the briefing to begin. Dr. O'Neill stood at the front of the room paging through the folder that held their test results. She was fidgeting quite a bit, biting her lower lip and, rather impressively, balancing on the heels of her shoes.

They'd been waiting at least 15 minutes for her SG-1 and the general to show up. Cam checked his watch again and glanced at Sam. So far it seemed like this SGC was an unorganized mess run by a bunch of kids with no sense of time. Sam turned to the doctor. "Do you think they'll be here sometime soon?" she asked. The doctor jumped as if startled and nearly fell over when she lost her balance.

"Ermm, could be," she replied noncommittally.

"You do realize that we have to figure this out soon?" Sam asked. "If we're in another reality we have entropic cascade failure to worry about, and if it's time travel that just opens up a whole other realm of problems."

"I don't think you realize the repercussions of our presence here," Daniel added helpfully.

"Umm, you're not really top priority right . . ." the doctor trailed off as the phone in the general's office began to ring. "Excuse me." She murmured wandering off into the general's office. SG-1 watched as she answered the phone, not seeming to care that it probably wasn't for her. "Stargate Command. Dr. O'Neill speaking."

Teal'c turned to the rest of his team. "The people of this place seem to have very little regard for proper military procedure," he commented.

"I kind of like it. Nice and relaxed," Vala stated. Daniel dropped his head in despair and her other companions just looked at her. Cam realized that Dr. O'Neill was having an argument with the person on the phone and strained to listen as the rest of the team debated about ways to get home.

"Well, you're not even supposed to be in the loop anymore. I'm gonna find out who told you and hurt them. . . I will! I'll tell you anything you actually need to know . . . I think I can determine that . . . You're overreacting . . . please stop worrying and go be retired . . . yeah, I'll tell him . . . good luck with the press conference . . . love you too, buh-bye." He watched as the woman placed the phone back in its cradle and let out a sigh of relief. She grasped the edge of the desk and seemed to be struggling to retain her composure. Just then Cam was distracted by the blonde man from the infirmary and another man with dark curly hair entering the room. The blonde man was still ranting something about DNA identification. Go figure.

"And I _told_ everyone, but did they listen? No! I'm only brilliant, why should they listen to me!"

"And so humble," the other man mumbled under his breath as he sat down.

"This kind of carelessness is what's going to get everyone killed around here!" the man continued angrily.

The other man turned to SG-1, completely blocking out his companion's rant. "Hi, you must be why everybody's avoiding the infirmary . . . well, more than usual anyway. I'm Alex and this is Jake. Kate around here somewhere?" He asked glancing around the room.

"Right here," she answered coming back into the briefing room. "Seen the general anywhere?"

"Isn't he in D.C.?" Alex supplied

"Again? And the rest of your team?"

"Katieda, is on Atlantis trying to help out with some translations that could be useful, and Colonel Lawrence is helping out at the Alpha site. I think they're having serious overload problems right now."

"So this is it . . ." the doctor glanced at the group around the table and sighed. "Well, let's get started." She pulled some papers out of her folder and handed them to the two men. "All the tests confirm that the DNA of these people match the DNA of the former SG-1's exactly. I haven't found a single difference. Both Ms. Mal Duran and Colonel Carter have the protein marker from being a former host. I'm fairly certain that couldn't have been faked."

"So you're saying you think they're telling the truth? How can that be?" Jake asked.

"Colonel Carter seems to think time travel is responsible for their presence here. What year did you say it was?" Dr. O'Neill turned to Sam.

"2006. It was 2006 when we went through the Stargate for a routine mission. It's possible a solar flare occurred at the exact time of our departure causing the gate to function as a sort of time portal." Dr. O'Neill nodded in agreement.

"That's what I supposed as well. It's happened before. In 1999 you were sent 30 years into the past to 1969. Since you've traveled approximately 30 years into the future it's probable that a flare on the other side of the sun could have caused the gate to send you forward in time."

"Thirty years!" Vala explained. "Oh god, I'm bound to be old!" Cam laughed at the disgusted look on her face.

"I'm sure they've got real good plastic surgery by now," he commented.

"So it's actually a good thing that we have that DNA gadget instead of GDOs now. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made it through the gate and we'd all be screwed," Jake made a face at Alex's comment. "So can't we just give them a puddle jumper and let them go home?" Alex asked. Kate sighed and shook her head.

"I don't think it's that simple."

"They've already seen us and our version of the SGC," Jake realized. "It's not a lot, but if something they saw here causes them to make a different decision in the past then everything could change. We're going to have to find a way to make them forget what they've seen."

"Whoa there! Nobody is gonna be messin' with our heads!" Cam exclaimed.

"Actually, Cam he's right. Anything we've learned could change the future." Sam stated.

"But it's the future, it hasn't happened yet." Daniel argued.

"It has to them," Sam pointed out. Alex opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted a woman bustling into the room.

"Turn on CNN now!" she snapped. Dr. O'Neill hurried to obey the woman. She looked to be in her mid-sixties and her hair was dyed dark red though it may have once been that color naturally. The woman glanced at SG-1. "Am I going to have to explain that?" she asked.

"Hopefully they'll be gone before it comes to that," Jake replied as Kate flipped through the channels.

"Kathleen could you please go a bit faster!" the woman demanded. The young doctor rolled her eyes at the woman in response. Finally she found the station. A reporter was talking into the camera and the caption "Third Stage of Pandemic Begins" was underneath her. Kate turned up the volume.

"_I'm here with General Winslet, head of Stargate Command, and General O'Neill, head of Homeworld Security." The camera panned out to include the two men in the frame, and Sam and Daniel both gasped in surprise. Jack didn't look a day older than when they had left. "What do you have to say about the seemingly uncontrollable spread of this pandemic?" the reporter asked General Winslet._

"_Though we've been unable to isolate the cause thus far, all of our best people are working night and day to solve the problem. I'm confident we will have a solution sometime in the near future. The key at this point is to remain calm." _

The redhead tapped her foot impatiently. "They're not stupid general. They know you're talking around their question," she murmured to the television.

"_Is it true that certain officials and those important to Stargate Command have begun to evacuate to the Alpha site?" the reporter asked._

"_Several of our research teams have moved to the Alpha site to lower their own risk of contamination so that they can continue their work. There is still no reason to move anyone else offworld." _

_The reporter seemed to hesitate before her next question_. _"General O'Neill, we've received reports that both of your children have decided to stay here, despite their positions. Does this worry you?" _

_Jack shifted uncomfortably onscreen._ _"As General Winslet has said, there's currently no reason for total evacuation," he responded vaguely._

"_If an evacuation were enacted would you expect them to be leaving?"_

_Jack hesitated again before answering._ _"Kathleen and Jacob are both adults capable of making their own decisions." _

_The reporter seemed to decide that Jack wasn't going to give her any interesting answers and turned back to the other man. "Both Lorraine and Christine Mitchell are reportedly moving to the Alpha site today, despite the fact that neither of them are involved it research. What is the reasoning for this?" she asked. _

The redhead pushed the off button as the general began to stammer out an explanation. "By moving people to the Alpha site we've lost any trust we've gained with the public in the last 20 years," she said to the three people staring blankly at the screen.

"You're General O'Neill's kids?" Vala asked. "Weird." Dr. O'Neill turned back to them as if remembering their presence for the first time.

"You heard all of that didn't you?" she asked.

"Yup," Cam responded for them.

"Crap," she answered.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: So I know it's been forever and ever. I had a crazy few months going there. I hope I still have readers! This chapter is really short, but updates should be more regular now though. At least one of my stories should get updated each week.

Thanks again to my beta, Kestra Scot, from Gateworld!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Kate stared at the papers in front of her. Exact DNA matches. SG-1. From the past. And now they knew about the future. Oops. She crumpled up the letter she was writing and banged her head down on the desk.

"Stop." Kate felt a reassuring hand running up and down her back.

"Stop what?" she asked.

"Stressing." Alex sat down next to her. "It's not your fault."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "What's not my fault?"

"Whatever you're stressing about. The epidemic, SG-1. None of it," he responded. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Actually I was worrying about SG-1. It's so bizarre seeing them all here. I can hardly focus around them. I can't believe I let them watch CNN! What are we gonna do?"

"They're in a VIP room right now. We figured the less they're exposed to the better. Meanwhile, Lorraine and Chrissy are both leaving today. We should go say good-bye." He stood up and offered her his hand. "Care to join me Dr. O'Neill?"

"Always, Captain Jackson," she replied with a small smile.

* * *

Colonel Mitchell paced the room anxiously. "So these people do not even care that we're here." 

It seems like they have a pretty big problem on their hands with this pandemic," Daniel commented.

"And the program's gone public," Sam added. "I can't even imagine having everyone watching our every decision."

"I'm bored!" Vala declared.

"Perhaps we should request to talk to our future selves," Teal'c continued.

"'Cause that wouldn't be weird at all!" Cam exclaimed.

"Teal'c may be right," Sam agreed. "Our future selves would be the most likely to understand us. If we could talk to them we may have a better chance of getting home."

"So how do we find them?" Daniel asked.

"We could ask," Vala supplied.

"I'm not sure," Sam answered Daniel. "Maybe I could hack into their computer records."

"We could contact O'Neill," Teal'c pointed out.

"Maybe we could ask your daughter," Daniel mused.

"Did I not just say to ask?" Vala exclaimed indignantly.

"What daughter?" Sam asked totally flabbergasted.

"Kate . . ." Daniel began extremely slowly, as if this should be completely obvious.

"Those are General O'Neill's kids!" she said, still looking completely shocked.

Daniel looked at her with an expression that clearly said '_Oh please'_. "And they just _happen_ to have blonde hair? And she just _happens_ to have blue eyes?" He pointed out.

"But . . ."

"It's okay, Sam," Daniel said reassuringly. "The good news is everyone around here has had about 30 years to adjust to the idea."

"Wait just a minute," Cam interrupted. "You," he pointed at Sam "and General O'Neill?"

"He's a hottie!" Vala added helpfully.

Sam dropped her head into her hands. "I guess I should talk to . . . Kate."

"Good plan," Daniel affirmed.

"I wonder if we ever made babies!" Vala wondered out loud with a huge smile and a suggestive wink toward Daniel. Daniel responded with his typical head drop, and Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Sam threw Vala an "I'll never understand you" look before heading to the door to ask the guards if she could speak with the doctor. Who happened to be her daughter.

* * *

A/N: I'm a little worried about this story since its way less popular than my other one. Please review so I know what you all are thinking about it! 


	5. Chapter 4

So I know it's been forever and ever and I'm a bad person. Since I feel so horrendous for making you all wait, I intend to post the next chapter today or tomorrow. That chapter should also clear up most of the stuff that seems to be confusing people. I hope . . . Enjoy!

P.S. I apologize for any typos and such because I didn't get this chapter edited since it took me so long to write. Sorry!**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4**

As General Jack O'Neill walked through the halls of the SGC every person he passed jumped out of his way. _And that's the way it should be!_ He thought to himself. _People should show a little respect._

If Kate weren't a fully grown woman he'd lock her in her room and send her to bed without dinner. _Supposed to be out of the loop, my ass. I'm the goddamned head of Homeworld Security! _Jack headed absently towards his daughter's office. Without out knocking, he pushed the door open and was greeted by the sight of his daughter sitting on her desk, making out with Captain Alexander Jackson.

Jack rolled his eyes to the ceiling. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd caught the two of them making out. However, he'd felt much more entitled to yell at them when they'd been teenagers, rather than adults who'd obviously already "gotten a room". Or at least that's what he thought until he saw Alex's hand reaching for the button's of his little girl's blouse.

"Yeah, you're done now," he declared. Both kids jumped about 15 feet. Alex snapped out a shaky salute and a "Sir!" at the same time as his daughters squeaky "Daddy!" Jack watched in a not very amused manner as she tried to smooth out her skirt and push stray hairs out of her face.

"I'd like to have private word with my daughter," Jack stated.

"Yes, sir!" Alex responded with another salute before practically running out of the room. Jack had to suppress his smirk. There was something to be said for being a higher rank than your daughter's significant other. He turned back to his daughter to see her giving him _that _look. The one Sam had helped her perfect by the age of three.

"What?" he asked innocently. Kate sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Do you need something?" she asked.

"Can't a guy just stop by to say hi to his daughter?" he questioned while fiddling with the assortment of pens on her desk. Her desk was quite a mess. Some of the drawers didn't even close all the way. He figured it was a bit like his desk would have looked like if he actually tried to use it. Kate raised an eyebrow at his question.

"I think not," she responded.

"Well, I happen to be a little upset with you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, because this really annoying reporter was asking me how I felt about my daughter not leaving, and I'm pretty sure she told me she was." Jack looked up from the pens into his daughters eyes. "You told me you were leaving, Kate." Kate was suddenly extremely interested in closing one of her overflowing drawers. "Kathleen." Kate jumped at the sound of her name.

"Well . . . you know how it is. Stuff . . . came up and got . . . busy." Jack slammed his fist onto her desk.

"Goddamnit, Kate! You and your brother are all I have left, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't get yourselves killed!" he shouted at her.

"I'm trying to save the world here! Could ya give me a break!" she screamed back.

"I saved the world plenty of times without dying!"

"Actually, you did die! You just always came back!"

"Why are we yelling!"

"I don't know!" she screamed again. Jack raised his eyebrows at Kate.

"Well then," he muttered. "I really wish you would leave."

"I'm really capable of making my own decision."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I'm still angry with you."

"Okay."

"Where's your brother?" Kate rolled her eyes at the question.

"Who knows," she said with a shrug.

"Well, I'll be . . . around." Jack informed her. Kate walked around the desk and hugged him tightly.

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, KitKat," he said, returning her hug.

* * *

Jack O'Neill walked out of his daughter's office feeling only slightly better. He knew better than to try to force Kate to do something she didn't want to. So he'd just have to go over her head and get her ordered to go to the Alpha Site. Now, to deal with his stubborn-ass son. 


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Mutters excuses about birthdays, illnesses, Easter, broken internet, and homework. Seriously though guys, I'm so sorry that I'm terrible with deadlines. I've decided not to make you anymore promises about dates since I'm obviously physically incapable of keeping those promises. However, I do promise that I'll get new chapters to you ASAP. And for those of you reading Memories that's coming too, I just don't know when yet . . .

Anyway enjoy, and please excuse the all the background stuff on Kate. Everyone said they were confused so I'm trying to continue to clear stuff up.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Kate let her head drop back down to her desk as soon as her dad left her office. She was pretty sure that something was wrong with the earth's rotation because each day was getting longer than the one before. She could be wrong though, since the days mostly slid together anyway.

She'd lied to Alex this morning. She did not "happen to like" her job. In fact, she hated it. And she was pretty sure Alex knew that but was choosing to humor her. She'd never meant to become head of the SGC's entire medical unit. She'd never even meant to end up working at the SGC.

She'd gone to medical school to be a pediatrician. All she'd ever wanted to do was work with kids. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her. It turned out she had a particular flair for genetics. She'd barely had her medical license in her hand when General Winslet had called and asked her to join the SGC as a geneticist. Apparently they'd had trouble finding good scientists, who weren't just in it for the fame, since the program went public.

Of course, she'd said no. Since she was thirteen, she'd blamed the entire Stargate program for everything bad in her life. There was no way she was going to work for them. Then Alex called. (She hadn't talked to him in four years. Not since she'd moved to New York for medical school. They'd fought before she left. Apparently kids who'd fallen in love when they were fifteen weren't supposed to get married. She'd disagreed.) He'd said '_please come home_.' She'd gotten on the next plane out.

She was surprised to find she didn't mind working at the SGC. Since she was fairly new the hours weren't bad and she was glad to be close to Alex again. Three months after she joined the SGC the plague hit.

At first, everyone figured it was no big deal. Just your typical, run-of-the-mill, DNA degrading, alien virus. They'd dealt with this sort of thing lots of times before. A small team was put together to come up with a cure. Kate was on that team.

Within in one month she was head of the team and the virus had spread nationwide. With in two months she was head of the entire medical department and it had spread worldwide. It turned out you got promoted pretty quickly when everyone above you was dead. That was a year and a half ago.

The problem was not that they were incapable of creating a cure. They'd created dozens of cures so far. The problem was that they never had a cure before the virus mutated. It mutated unlike any virus Kate had ever seen. Simultaneously, in every person infected by the virus, it changed. Similar enough to continue killing, but not similar enough to be able to use the same cure.

About six months ago they'd finally figured out where the damn thing had come from. A Goa'uld named Sekhmet had quietly been working on creating the ultimate weapon for the past 40 years or so. Revenge for the death of Ra or something. Apparently it had been successful. Unfortunately, finding the source wasn't saving any lives.

* * *

Sam Carter banged on the door to their room. "Hey! I need to talk to somebody!" she yelled. A guard opened the door.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I need to talk to Dr. O'Neill," she said, trying to ignore the weirdness of it.

"You're supposed to stay in here until someone asks for you," the guard replied.

"Hey, buddy!" Cam yelled from behind Sam. "I don't know if you've heard of us. We're a little team called SG-1. If you've heard of use you probably realize that we are fully capable of getting ourselves out of this room, if necessary. We just thought it'd be nice to ask politely first."

The guard shifted uncomfortably of his feet as if considering Cam's words. Apparently, he had heard of them. "Colonel Carter can come with me, but the rest of you have to stay here," he said unsurely.

"That's all we ask, man," Cam replied. Sam followed the guard down the out of the room.

As they walked down the halls Sam felt both at home and completely out of place. The halls and rooms were familiar to her but she didn't recognize a single person there. The young officer led her to an office that she recognized as Dr. Frasier's (_Dr. Lam's!_ she mentally corrected herself). The officer knocked cautiously on the open door.

"What!?" came the snappy reply.

"Colonel Carter requested to see you, ma'am," he informed the doctor.

"Well, tell her not now," she replied, not lifting her head from her desk.

The young man fidgeted for a moment. "Umm, ma'am . . ."

"What . . ." she finally glanced up and saw Sam. "Oh. Well, let her come in then," she said. The man nodded and stepped aside for Sam to enter. As soon as she was in the room the man saluted to her and walked away quickly.

"So I suppose you have some questions?" Kate asked.

Sam shrugged. "Just a few."

* * *

Jack wandered through the labs of the SGC. _Every one of these damn labs looks exactly the same!_ he thought. _How the hell am I supposed to figure out which one Jake's is._

Eventually Jack realized that the labs had names on the doors and found one that read _Dr. J. O'Neill. _Jack opened the door and was disappointed when his son was not in the room. Rather than continuing to search aimlessly, he decided to wait for him there.

Around 20 minutes later Jake finally wandered into the room. "Hey, Jake," Jack greeted. Jake took one look at his father, turned around, and walked back out of the room. "That went well," Jack commented to himself. It was definitely one of those days.

* * *

A/N: Also, many thanks to all of you who submitted reviews of the last chapter. Its really encouraging to know people continue to read this story despite my tardy updating. Please send more! 


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: So it turns out babysitting two toddlers five days a week doesn't leave much time or energy for writing. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself then I realized a whole bunch of you do it full time and still manage to find time to write. Therefore, this chapter is for all the mommies out there. You guys are my heroes!

Also, there are flashbacks in this chapter. They're italicized.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The young doctor was watching Sam expectantly, waiting for a question. Sam guessed she was somewhere in her late 20s but she looked so tired and overworked. Why had they put someone so young in a position of such huge responsibility? "Why have you locked us up?" Sam inquired. "We're not a threat to you."

Dr. O'Neill nodded. "I know, but I'm obviously not very good at keeping you all from seeing things you're not supposed to so this is safer."

"Is anyone working on our situation? Can we expect any developments any time soon?"

"I have a very small group working on the memory problem. There aren't a lot of people available, though. Once we figure that out Alex is probably right in that we can just give you a puddlejumper and send you on your way."

Sam shook her head. "None of us have the gene to fly it."

"That's okay. We've created an interface so that people without the gene can control them. Well, actually you did. Anyway, we'll just have to make sure it's destroyed once you get home because we don't want you to have the technology before you're supposed to. Anything else?"

Sam hesitated, not quite sure what she wanted to ask. "Since we're going to lose our memories anyway . . . What happened?"

"A Goa'uld named Sekhmet infected Earth with this virus almost two years ago. We've been working to beat it, but . . . it keeps changing. It's almost like it _knows _when we find a cure. It's killed so many people already." Sam could hear the extreme frustration in her voice. She couldn't imagine working on a problem for that long and basically being no closer to an answer. The doctor was no staring fixedly on some papers on her desk. Sam knew she was attempting to regain her composure and gave her a minute.

"I don't mean to . . . but where are we? I've seen General O'Neill, but where is SG-1? Are we helping at all?" Sam was surprised when Kathleen looked up at her to see tears running down her face.

"You're dead," she finally choked out. "You've all been dead a long, long time." Sam's mind reeled. She hadn't quite realized that at some point over the years she'd begun to believe that SG-1 was simply going to survive. They'd escaped so many near-death situations, and for that matter actual death, that she'd eventually thought that they were somewhat invincible. And a 'long, long time'? That didn't sound at all good for her own near-future.

Meanwhile Kate's mind was reeling with painful memories. She hadn't expected to be asked about SG-1. She'd deluded herself into thinking that they would just believe they were all just off enjoying retirement somewhere. She should have known that they would expect themselves to be helping out with the situation.

And of all the people to send to ask her about it. She had a feeling it was Daniel's doing. He was always freakishly perceptive and had most likely figured out that Sam was Kate and Jacob's mother. He'd known to send her to get the best answers. However, Kate had a feeling that Sam was actually a bit oblivious to this fact.

Kate could still remember the day her life had changed forever as if it had just happened.

_She stomped her feet as she walked up the path to her front door. Who did Alex think he was? This was the third boy he'd scared away by telling them stupid stories about her family. Just because her daddy was a general didn't mean he was going to actually shoot her boyfriends or send aliens after them! At 13 she considered herself to be entirely too old to be boyfriend-less. She was going to be in high school soon, for crying out loud! _

_She stomped into the house fully intending to call up Auntie Vala as soon as she got back and tell her what a terror her son was being. She stopped short when she saw two officers standing in her living room. She recognized one as her mom's friend, Major Hailey, but the other one was unfamiliar. _

_As she walked into the living room she saw her dad sitting on the sofa. His head was in his hands and his shoulders were shaking. Her blood ran cold as she realized he was crying. The only other time she'd ever seen him cry was when he'd told her and Jake about Charlie. _

_"Daddy?" she asked tentatively. He looked up from his hands. He reached out his arms to her and she ran into his hug. He hugged her tightly and sobbed into her shoulder. Kate was so scared she could barely hug him back. "Daddy what's the matter?" she asked._

_"It your mom," he finally managed to choke out. "She and her team didn't make it back through the gate this time. They're gone. The whole team is gone." He broke down sobbing onto her shoulder again and this time Kate sobbed with him. _

That day had left her motherless, but others had suffered as well. Teal'c's son, Rya'c had lost his only remaining parent. Cameron Mitchell's wife of only six years was suddenly a single mother, and as Public Relations Official for the SGC she had to tell the world about the loss of her husband and his friends. And fourteen-year-old Alex Jackson had lost both his mother and his father in one night.

Sam watched the girl who had turned away from her, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Kate finally turned back. "I was thirteen," she whispered hoarsely. "I . . ." Sam was startled once again by the look of pain on the woman's face. She recognized that pain. It was the same pain she felt when she thought of her mother's death.

Suddenly, without thinking, she walked around the desk and wrapped her arms around the girl. Kathleen collapsed into her arms sobbing. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "I was thirteen, and I fought with you. And I said horrible things, but I didn't mean them. And I'm trying to be the daughter you would have wanted. I work here and I help and I'm a good person, mostly. I miss you so, so much."

Sam rubbed her daughter's back reassuringly and tried to make out what she was saying through the sobs, but she wasn't having much luck. She figured it didn't matter much though. Mostly Kate just needed someone to be there for her.

* * *

Dr. Jacob O'Neill strode out of his office completely frustrated. He had spent most of his adult life hating the SGC and anyone associated with it, including his own father. He'd always held them responsible for his mother's death.

The only reason he worked here now was because they had been absolutely desperate for physicists and the future of the entire planet was up in the air. Also, Kate had showed up and cried at him. Kate could get Jake to do anything if she acted sad enough.

Despite the fact that he had been there five months now, this was the first time he'd run into his father. Kate had never understood why he blamed their father. He'd explained to her half a million times that Jack had been the one to okay the mission. He'd sent them to their deaths. However, Kate still stubbornly believed that there was no way he could have known about the danger on the other side of the 'gate.

Jake wandered into the office of his childhood friend, Captain Alexander Jackson. Alex was sorting through what looked like old mission reports on time travel. He looked up when Jake entered the room. "Your dad's here," he warned.

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Did you talk to him?" Alex asked.

"Not exactly," Jake replied. Alex rolled his eyes at his friend. Jake decided it was time for a change of subject. "So how are you doing? Did Lorraine and Chrissy leave this morning?"

Alex nodded tensely. After his parents died fourteen years ago, Lorraine Mitchell had raised him like her own son, and at 18, Chrissy Mitchell was the closest he'd ever had to a sibling. "I think Lorraine wanted to stay after that crappy interview this morning, but she wanted to get Chrissy out more," he told Jake.

"She did look pretty pissed in the briefing room," Jake agreed.

"I think she was pretty shook up with seeing Uncle Cam in there," Alex explained.

Jake shook his head. "I didn't even think of that. That's rough."

Alex looked at his friend inquiringly. "Did you actually need something or are you just hiding from your dad?"

"The plan was to hide in here while working," he responded while opening his laptop.

"Make yourself at home," Alex replied before turning back to his own work.

* * *

Back in the V.I.P. room SG-1 was waiting impatiently for Colonel Carter's return. "What's _taking_ so long?" Vala asked while spinning back and forth in the desk's swivel chair.

"Maybe the guard didn't take her where he said he would, or the doctor wouldn't see her right away," Cam supplied.

"How rude!" Vala exclaimed indignantly.

"Or perhaps, they had a lot of things to discuss," Daniel said thoughtfully.

"I suspect you are correct, DanielJackson," Teal'c stated.

Vala continued to pout. "Well, they could at least bring us some snack while we wait." As usual, she was ignored.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: So here's another chapter. It takes me even longer than it used to because I have to re-read the whole thing every time I sit down to write since I don't remember everything. I really apologize for the waits. I realized it has been over a year since I started this story. I never imagined it would take this long to write. Any of you who have stuck with the story this whole time are amazing. If it makes you feel better I have already written the last chapter so the story definitely has an ending!

P.S. Thanks to all of you who responded with support to my note on the Memories story. All ya'll make me feel seriously loved.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Jack tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk as he waited on hold. He hadn't seen General Winslet in weeks outside of that disastrous press conference this morning. This day had not gone at all well for him. It had started with that damn reporter dropping the news on him that his children had yet to leave the planet, and then both of them had stubbornly refused to take his advice.

He fiddled absently with his wedding ring while the hold music played in his ear. Sam would have known exactly what to say to make them leave without making them feel like they were being ordered around. She wouldn't have had to call up their superior officer to get them ordered off the planet.

Sometimes he missed her so bad that it physically hurt. Actually, that was every day, but most days he could remember why he kept going. She wouldn't have wanted him to stop because it hurt. She would have expected him to get thought it and save everybody. That's just what they did.

"General Winslet," a clipped and efficient sounding voice came through the phone.

"Mike, it's O'Neill."

"Sir. What can I do for you?"

"It's about my kids. They can't be here. I can't think straight when I don't know if their safe."

"I'm sorry Sir. I'm not going to order them away if that's what you're asking. They're too important. We need their expertise."

"You can use their expertise on another planet," Jack replied testily. "Just get them somewhere safe."

"I have nothing but respect for you, Sir, but the fact is even though you were pulled out of retirement to help with public image during this crisis you have little or no say in military decisions at this time. I wish I could have been of more help to you. You'll have to excuse me though. I have meetings to attend." Jack was startled when he immediately heard a click indicating that he was no longer connected.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he slammed the phone back into its cradle. He had no further plan. He buried his face in his hands in despair.

* * *

Sam had been holding her daughter for at least ten minutes before Kate was able to regain her composure enough to continue the conversation. "I'm so sorry for breaking down on you," she said while wiping her tears off her face. "You must think I'm crazy."

"Not at all," Sam assured her. She hesitated a moment before adding. "I lost my mother as a teenager, too." Kate nodded as if recalling something she had always known but not often thought about. "Can you . . . tell me what happened?" Sam asked tentatively. Kate nodded and indicated that Sam could sit down in the seat across from her.

"SG-1 had been retired for a while actually, but there was some sort of treaty. It was with a planet that SG-1 had initiated contact with, and they requested that SG-1 be present for the signing ceremony on their planet . . . some cultural thing. Uncle Danny understood. Anyway, Dad, General O'Neill I mean, was still head of Homeworld Security back then. He said it was fine since everyone was okay with going.

"It didn't go as planned though. There was some sort of trap. I don't even remember exactly who organized it or why. I guess I never really wanted to know, but the point is everyone on the planet died. Including SG-1." They sat in silence for a minute while Sam absorbed.

"How long ago was this?" she inquired.

"About 14 years ago."

"Had the program already gone public?" Kate gave her a surprised look before remembering she'd seen CNN that morning.

"Yes, the program's been public about 20 years. I barely remember a time when it wasn't"

"How did that go?"

"Well I was about 7 at the time," Kate commented while smiling slightly at her only memory of the transition . . .

_Katie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Her parents and their friends were at the front of the room and lots of people were asking them questions about their work. It all seemed exceptionally boring to her. She didn't really understand much of what was going on. She knew that her parents' jobs used to be a secret and now they weren't. _

_Her mom had tried to explain to her about going to other planets and aliens. She said that Auntie Vala and Uncle T were aliens. Katie didn't understand how they could be aliens. Auntie Vala lived right down the street, and she'd known Uncle T her whole life. And neither of them had ever been green. She'd meant to ask Daddy about it 'cause he explained stuff way better than Mom, but he hadn't been home all week. She could believe Alex Jackson was part alien though. He was such a __**freak!**_

_Katie tried to listen to her Uncle Cam talk, but she felt a sharp pull on one of her pigtails. She spun around furiously in her seat to face two boys who were both pointedly not looking in her direction. "Stop it you turd-faces!" she hissed at them. _

"_Gee, sorry," Alex responded. "They're just so ugly we couldn't help wanting to yank them off." Her brother and Alex low-fived each other, and Katie fought back tears. Boys were so mean!_

"_I hate you!" Katie said a bit too loudly. Loud enough for Cassie to hear her and turn around._

"_If you three do not behave this instant I am going to lock you in the nursery with the babies you're behaving like," she threatened. _

_Katie stuck her tongue out at Cassie's back and turned forward to listen to her daddy drone on about something called "Homeworld Security"._

"How did the public handle it?" Sam asked, interrupting her memories.

"Fairly well, considering," Kate told her. "Our Public Relations Manager, Ms. Mitchell, was with them from the beginning and she's amazing. Drove SG-1 crazy though, always setting them up to be heroes, but it worked. She made them heroes and human at the same time so the public loved them. I guess that eased the transition a lot.'

"Mitchell?"

"Mmmhmm, well, it would have been Kent then. She married Cameron Mitchell after working with him for a few years." Sam smiled at the thought of her friend settling down with a family.

"And General O'Neill is still head of Homeworld Security?"

"Well he actually retired 14 years ago so that he could raise us, but they brought him back for morale when the plague got bad. The last of the heroes or something like that."

Sam winced knowing how much her friend would hate being in the spotlight and thrown up on a pedestal like that. She was the same way. Kate noticed that Sam had fallen quiet and assumed she was finished with questions for now. "So you hungry?" she asked.

Sam smiled. "Starved," she replied.

* * *

Jack O'Neill was headed back for Kate's office. He'd decided she was leaving the planet even if it meant he had to physically pick her up and throw her through the Stargate. Kate was leaving her office just as he rounded the corner. He started to call out to her but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who followed her out of the room.

Sam Carter, looking exactly as he remembered, was talking to her daughter. From her hand gestures Jack could tell she was attempting to explain something, and the look on Kate's face indicated that she was trying desperately to understand, but not quite catching on.

"Sam," he whispered hoarsely when he had recovered enough from the shock. Amazingly she actually heard. When she turned around and saw him her mouth formed a perfect "O" and she stared at him in an equal amount of astonishment.

Kate looked back to see what had distracted Sam, and her already wide blue eyes turned into saucers as she glanced frantically back and forth between them. "Sir . . ." Sam began slowly.

"What the hell?" Jack interrupted looking to Kate for an explanation.

"Well," Kate began as Sam stood helplessly to the side, "there was this issue apparently. Something to do with time travel. And we've been kind of busy so . . ."

"But she's real?" he asked once again interrupting. "She's Sam? The same Sam I married?"

"I guess. I mean she's from this reality, but she hasn't married . . ." Kate stopped short as her father crossed the entire hall in only a few strides and grabbed Sam tightly to him in a fierce and desperate hug.

Sam Carter was in shock. She and Jack had only begun to explore what the current lack of military regulations meant for their relationship. A few dates. They'd barely touched. Mostly they'd just been talking it out, and any hugs in the past had been few and far between. Also, they had typically been much less of a surprise. This man was clinging to her as if his life depended on it. And it felt amazing to be that close to him. And damn did he smell good. Exactly like Jack O'Neill. She thought she was already at the end of her limits when he pulled away and gazed intently into her eyes. She was completely lost.

"Dad . . ." she heard Kate protesting softly in the background. She sounded miles away. Jack pulled away slowly and it broke the spell. The world came back into focus. He ran a hand through his hair, and turned to Kate.

"We should talk later"

"Okay," she nodded agreeably but concern showed in her eyes. He turned away abruptly and walked back down the hall. Kate looked at Sam. "So . . . still want to grab lunch?" Sam nodded dazedly and the two women headed to the commissary together.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later Sam finally returned to her fellow teammates. "We were beginning to worry," Cam commented.

"Did you bring snacks?" Vala asked from the bed where she lounged. Sam barely heard their comments but caught Daniel's eye across the room. He took one look at her and knew something was up.

"So I'm guessing we have a lot to talk about?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "A lot has happened," she began.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay I suck. But really it's more Calculus' fault. Remind me how this subject is going to be beneficial to my career as a publicist?

Story Note: So in this universe Sam never went to Atlantis cause when I started this fic back in 2006 (holy moly it has been a long time!) I had no idea that was going to happen. In my mind she married Jack sometime around when season 10 took place and had Jake and Kate soon after that. Also, the reason people seem to move around the country so fast is 'cause I figure important people just get "beamed" around by ships. That makes sense right?

**Chapter 8**

Sam did her best to bring her teammates up to speed on all she had learned. She explained about the SGC going public, their deaths, and the virus.

"So what's the plan?" Cam asked.

"Kate is going to find her brother who is apparently some sort of physicist and he is going to help us come up with a way to fix the memory problem. They have a time-traveling puddle jumper somewhere around here so once they make us forget this future they can send us on our way home," Sam explained.

Cam seemed to consider the plan for a moment before replying. "I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with these people screwin' around in my head. How do we know this is really the future and not some alien trap?"

Sam thought about the look in Kate's eyes when she told her SG-1 was dead and the feel of Jack's arms around her, holding on for dear life. "Trust me. It's real."

"You're sure?" Daniel inquired.

Sam nodded her head. "Positive."

"Did you happen to inquire about my marital status about the time of my death?" Vala asked.

Sam stared at the woman before replying. "No, sorry it must have slipped my mind."

The door opened and an SF came in. "I'm here to escort Colonel Carter to a research lab where Doctors O'Neill are waiting for her," he said without really making eye contact with any of them.

Sam turned to Cam and he shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to entertain ourselves until you get back." Sam nodded and turned to follow the man to the lab.

She could hear Vala whining as she left the room, "Why does _she_ get to have all the fun?"

Kate was sitting in the lab with the young man who had been introduced to them as Jake earlier. She smiled up at Sam when she saw her enter. "This is my brother, Dr. Jacob O'Neill," she said to Sam. Sam wasn't quite sure how to react to being introduced to her future son, but held out her hand for him to shake. The young man just shook his head and turned back to what he was working on.

"It's just too weird," he muttered to his sister.

"You could at least be polite," she said with a frown in his direction.

"_You could at least be polite,"_ he mimicked in a sing-song voice.

Sam suppressed laughter at the siblings casual bickering before interrupting it. "So what are you working on?"

Kate picked up a small device from the table. "Do you know what this is?" she asked Sam while handing it to her.

Sam nodded. "It's a Tok'ra memory recall device. Do you think it can help us?"

"Well the idea of the device is to help you to recall specific memories," Jake began. "So I figured we could use it to isolate the memories you've attained while here and somehow reverse the device to suppress them rather than recall them. It would be kind of like, highlighting a paragraph in a word processor and then deleting that paragraph instead of the whole thing."

"Nice analogy," Kate added.

"I try," Jake commented.

"I know but it usually goes pretty poorly," Kate said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up, you know . . ."

"Ok!" Sam enthusiastically cut of the siblings once again. "Sounds like you've got a good idea to start with. Let's get to work."

* * *

Over the next few hours Sam worked with Jake and Kate to first isolate memories and then suppress them. It proved to be a slow and frustrating process. The only plus side to this was Sam began to get to know her children.

Jake was obviously brilliant and was following very much in her own footsteps. However, he was very quick tempered and prone to hold a grudge. It was obvious from comments he made that he resented his father a great deal and was only working here at his sister's insistence. In spite of his best attempts to hide it, it was also clear that he loved his sister a great deal and would do anything to protect her.

Sam found Kate to be vastly different from her brother in several ways. Despite her bossy nature, which was actually quite Janet-esque, she was incredibly patient and typically soft-spoken, except when Jake was really getting on her nerves. She liked to talk and filled the room with chatter most of the time. She laughed a lot, too. Actually her laugh was quite unexpectedly loud considering her soft voice and it startled Sam every time.

The young man who had introduced himself as Alex wandered in and out a few times with coffee for everyone and chocolate for Kate. From the soft touches and looks of concern, Sam also concluded that he was most likely the one responsible for the diamond on her daughter's left hand. She had suspicions about his parentage, but nothing had been said to confirm them.

Sam was finding it difficult to process all this information, so she focused on altering the memory device. Once they figured out what they were doing, the changes were easier than she had expected given the new technology available to them, and before she knew it they were finished.

* * *

Sam and Kate walked side by side down the hall the room where SG-1 was waiting. When they arrived, they explained the plan to the team. "So basically all that's left is to wait for the puddle jumper to be ready, zap your heads, and send you on your way," Kate concluded. Sam nodded in agreement.

"Cool. I always wanted to fly one of those things," Cam said.

"I just have one question," Vala began.

"Yes, you married Daniel, and yes, you had a son. His name is Alex and we're engaged," Kate informed her with a smile. She had known Vala well and had expected the question since she saw her in the infirmary.

"Oh . . ." Vala seemed to consider this information for a moment before turning to Daniel, who looked somewhere between completely distraught and quite pleased. "Well, that's quite alright by me!" she declared.

Kate smiled again and turned back to Sam. "I have to go get a few things ready. I'll send someone to bring you back to the infirmary when I'm ready for you."

Sam confirmed the plan and SG-1 settled in to wait.

* * *

Kate was in her office fiddling with the device. It was just so unfair. She'd finally gotten her mother back only to lose her again. They had a chance to change things here . . .

"You think you could fix things don't you?" Kate looked up to see Alex leaning in the door frame.

"I just feel like maybe we should just let them remember. Maybe then they could prepare themselves. Maybe . . ."

"And maybe if we don't put things back the way they were, we'll never be born and the virus will wipe the world out even more quickly. There's no way of knowing, Kate. It's not our place to interfere. We can't play God."

Kate nodded slowly. "I guess you're right." Alex came over and hugged her.

"Are you ready? Want me to go get them?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Okay, I'll take care of it." He started to leave, but turned back for a moment. "You're doing the right thing, baby," he reassured her. She nodded weakly and turned back to her desk. Alex left to go get the team.

Kate waited until Alex's footsteps faded away and pulled out a manila envelope and two objects from her drawer. She dropped them into the envelope and put it in her briefcase before heading to the infirmary where SG-1 was waiting for her.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: I really have no excuse except that I lost their voices. I couldn't seem to get it right without watching SG-1. Fortunately Continuum inspired me so I finished this chapter. The epilogue was the first thing I wrote so it was already complete. I hope some of you are still interested, and you enjoy the conclusion to my story.

**Chapter 9**

Jack O'Neill sat quietly in the isolation room that was going to be used to wipe the memories of the past versions of SG-1. He was still so in shock from seeing his wife alive, and she was already being sent back. More than anything in the universe he wished there was some way he could warn her and the others about their deaths. Unfortunately, it was highly unlikely Kate would let him anywhere near them again after his reaction in the hall earlier.

The sound of footsteps in the hall alerted him to their arrival. Kate, followed by SG-1 and her brother, filed into the room and began to set up the device. Sam looked over at him as she walked into the room, and he saw his own pain reflected through her eyes. He understood perfectly. She knew what was going to happen, and didn't want to miss out on their life together, with their children, anymore than he did.

Jack was surprised how quickly the process of removing their memories occurred. They were slightly disoriented afterwards and Kate was able to have them quickly ushered to the 'gate room. Jack stayed out of view and observed from the control room. He saw Kate explaining to Cameron that he would have to use the puddle jumper to go through the gate to a planet with a space gate, travel back to their correct time period, and go back through the stargate to the SGC.

Jack turned and walked away. He couldn't watch the people he loved go to their deaths yet again.

* * *

Sam listened to the blonde doctor as she patiently explained to Cameron what he needed to do to get home. 'What had happened? Were they in the gate room? They were in the future? How did they get there? Why didn't she remember?'

As she was about to get into the puddle jumper, Sam was unexpectedly pulled into a fierce hug by the young woman. "Be safe," she whispered in Sam's ear. Before she moved away Sam felt something being slipped under the back of her vest.

"Ready?" Cam called from the puddle jumper.

"Yeah," Sam called back, throwing a final confused look at the young woman before joining her team on the puddle jumper.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Cam declared.

PAGE BREAK

Kate watched as her family left the gate room. The future was in their hands now. She felt Alex and Jake walk up behind her.

"So they're gone?" Jake asked.

"Yes, they're gone." The trio was silent for a moment.

"You warned them, didn't you?" asked Alex. Kate looked at him for a moment before looking back at the Stargate.

"Of course."

* * *

Getting home was just as easy as the doctor had hoped it would be. Landry greeted them as they landed in the gate room. "SG-1, why are you back so soon? And where the hell did that puddle jumper come from?"

Sam listened as the rest of her team tried to explain to General Landry what they knew about the situation. She was more focused on what had been slipped to her by the woman who was supposedly from the future. From the back of her vest she pulled out an envelope.

"Sam?" she heard Daniel's questioning voice. "What is that?

"I'm not sure," she answered slowly. "That woman gave it to me," she further explained. Sliding a finger under the seal, she ripped the envelope open and looked inside. There was a vial, what looked like a Tok'ra memory device, and a piece of paper. She pulled out the piece of paper. "It's a letter," she said quietly while unfolding it. The letter was addressed to her in an untidy scawl:

_Sam,_

_I know this note will be confusing to you, but I have to try. I couldn't just send you back to the past knowing the fate you would someday face. Don't let anyone go to P8X-974 for a treaty signing._

_The vial contains a cure for the first strain of a DNA degrading virus. It should hit sometime around 2034. We engineered the cure too late, but if you administer it immediately you should be able to save everyone._

_The disc is the memories I took from you. I guess that's mostly just me being vain. I modified it so that it will restore your memories. If you're successful in changing the future, I want you to realize what you have accomplished. I want someone to remember me. Or this me anyway. Feel free to use the disc anytime after the year 2036._

_Love you always,_

_Kathleen_

Sam slid the letter back into the envelope, at the same time removing the memory disc. She slipped the disc up her sleeve and hoped no one noticed. They would never let her have it, but she felt strangely attached this Kathleen girl, and she wanted to remember who she was. Even if she had to wait 30 years.

Sam turned to face the control room. "It's a cure, sir," she announced. "And I think we should start making more sooner than later."


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Sam Carter-O'Neill stood on the front porch of their family cabin in Minnesota. It was time for their annual "family" reunion and people would start arriving soon. All her old teammates and their families were coming to stay with her and Jack at their cabin. Sometimes she couldn't believe how well things had turned out in life. Especially considering what she now knew.

A blue mini-van was pulling up the road. It stopped in front of the house and the passengers began to unload. Sam's 27-year-old daughter, Dr. Kathleen Jackson, waved cheerily at her mother before sliding open the door to the backseat and unloading her own 3-year-old daughter and baby son from their car seats. Kate's husband, Captain Alexander Jackson, was unloading their bags from the trunk most of which seemed to be overflowing with children's toys and baby supplies. Sam smiled to herself at the sight; As if she and Jack didn't have the cabin fully stocked for their grandchildren! Alex had recently been positioned on SG-1 and his parents couldn't have been more proud. Her own son was also working at the SGC as head of R&D.

Seeing Kate reminded her again how different their lives could have been. This morning she'd opened the envelope to retrieve the device she'd stashed away thirty years ago. It had contained all her memories from that crazy trip through time 30 years ago. She'd never been more grateful that they had decided to follow the instructions of the unfamiliar blonde doctor, who wasn't quite so unfamiliar these days.

The door to the cabin opened and Jack walked out, looking 10 years younger than he should have thanks to some Asgard interference, to greet his family. Their granddaughter launched herself up the steps as fast as her tiny legs would allow as soon as she noticed them. "Grandma!! Grandpa!! I missed you so muches!!" Jack scooped her up in a hug and held her tight.

"We missed you too," he assured her. Kate followed shortly after her daughter holding the baby in her arms. When she reached the top of the steps she leaned over to hug both of her parents with her free arm. "How's work?" Jack inquired as he led them inside.

"Oh fine. Seems like every kid in the Springs has the chicken pox this summer though."

"Too much chicken noodle soup," he commented to the little girl still in his arms, knowing it was her favorite.

"Grandpa!" she exclaimed indignantly. "That's not how you get chickie poxes!"

"It's not?" he asked with feigned confusion. "Then where's it come from?"

"Cooties, of course," she explained with an eye roll. Sam turned back to the view as they disappeared far enough into the house that their voices faded to a distant murmur. She noticed that Alex was still struggling to move everyone's luggage inside and laughingly moved to help him.

* * *

That night Sam was relaxing on the couch after having spent the day helping everyone get settled in. The cabin just wasn't meant for this many guests! Thanks goodness some of them were okay with roughing it in tents at night.

"Hey." Jack plopped down on the couch next to her. "What's that mega-watt smile on your face all about?"

Sam took his hand and squeezed it before leaning back against him. "I was just thinking how lucky I am to have this life. On days like this I feel like it couldn't be more perfect." Jack glanced down at his wife who was beginning to doze off against his chest. Even after nearly 30 years of marriage he still considered her daily presence in his life to be somewhat of a miracle. He glanced up to the kitchen and saw his son and Alex doing dishes while Kate stood to the side informing them of the errors of their method, which was resulting in a great deal of suds being thrown in her direction.

"Nothing in this universe is more perfect than this," he assured his wife. And she smiled because she knew it was true.


End file.
